The Next Generation
by Kassidy10
Summary: The Mortal Instrument group are parents. This story follows their kids on their adventures through love and loss and demons. JxC MxA IxS MxJ
1. Preface

August 14, 2012: Maxwell Stephen Herondale

Jace had fought hundreds of demons, stood toe to toe with an entire vampire clan, battled a greater demon almost single handedly, and even had died, but nothing from his training or experience had prepared him for anything as terrifying as this. His hair was sticking up in gravity defying directions due to running his hands through it numerous times. His hands hurt from the ferocity and frequency that he had been wringing his hands together.

He remembered when Clary had told him; he had just gotten back from a hunt and was high on adrenaline. She had called him into the weapons room, away from everyone else. She had been shaking when she finally told him. He hadn't responded at first, too much in shock to form coherent sentences, then he remembered smiling so much it made his face hurt.

As the months passed and Clary's stomach swelled, Jace had assured himself that he was ready for this. Shadow hunters did everything sooner, right? And 22 and expecting a child wasn't that unusual anyway. But as the nine month mark drew nearer, Jace started to worry. What if he did something wrong? Or something happened to him and he left his child alone in the world?

But none of that mattered as he stared at the scene before him. Clary was lying in bed cradling a baby, their baby, in her arms. Clary smiled at him before handing him his perfect baby boy.

"Maxwell Stephen Herondale, I'm your dad." Said Jace, looking into golden eyes that mirrored his own. As he stared at the miracle in his arms, he promised himself that he would _never_ let anything happen to his angel faced baby.

October 24, 2012: James Simon Kyle

Only two months after the birth of little Max, the occupants of the institution were back in the infirmary waiting room, all except Isabelle and Maryse, who were assisting with the birth of Maia and Jordan's child (let's not question how they are allowed in the institute).

Clary and Jace sat on either side of Jordan, offering him words of encouragement. Simon, who had gotten special clearance from the clave to live in the institution with Izzy, (which is also completely plausible and should not be questioned) kept throwing sympathetic glances towards Jordan, unable to imagine what he was going through. Alec and Magnus (who are together in this story because I refuse to accept the truth) sat with baby Max in the corner, taking turns holding their godson.

"It's not even really Maia that I am worried about. She's one of the strongest people I know. It's the baby. There is a 75% chance that it'll be like us. That's not fair to it. I'm a bad father before my child is even born!" Jordan said miserably, burying his head in his hands.

"Jordan, don't worry! Werewolf, mundane, bunny rabbit, it _doesn't matter_. We will love this child no matter what." Clary's sincere words were followed by a murmur of agreements.

"Though if it's a bunny I may be a little worried if I were you." Said Simon struggling to maintain a serious face. Clary openly glared at him just as Isabelle walked into the hallway. For someone who just helped deliver a baby her hair looked perfect.

"Your son has a near flawless delivery. Maia barely felt a thing." Isabelle reassured Jordan.

"Son?" Jordan asked.

Jace looked at Max, who was back in Clary's arms, then to Jordan. The two shared a knowing, unexplained look.

"James Simon Kyle. That's what we decided on." Simon gave Jordan a quizzical look. "You brought us together, Simon. You made all this possible."

With that Jordan stood up, looked around the room once, and went to meet his child.

November 29, 2013: Emily Hope Herondale

This wasn't like last time. That was completely clear to Clary. There was nobody in the waiting room there to congratulate her afterwards and no Jace pacing just outside, ready to rush in at a seconds notice. No, Jace was down the hall in a bed very similar to the one she was in now, currently being treated by the Silent Brothers. He had been bitten by a greater demon.

"You need to stop worrying. He will be fine. You need to focus!" Maryse said to Clary, as she tried to hide the fact that she was incredibly worried herself.

"Clary, everything is going to be fine. When Jace wakes up, you can be the first one to meet him with this new little girl in your arms." Jocelyn assured Clary, holding tightly to her hand. "Concentrate on the baby. What are you going to name her?"

"Jace and I have this thing where we each get to pick a name. I picked Maxwell and he picked Stephen, so this time he got to pick the first name. Jace-" Clary was cut short by the scream that came from her mouth as a wave of pain ripped through her. She caught her breath when the pain passed. "Jace picked Emily." She said with a smile.

"Emily. It's beautiful." Jocelyn said, giving Clary's hand a light squeeze. "How about for her middle name?"

"I hadn't really decided, but.." Clary thought about everything that was happening with her husband and how the most important thing was to hope. That was it. "Hope. Emily Hope Herondale."

Jocelyn could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "It's perfect."

"It's time to push." Said Maryse. Clary closed her eyes, pushing her worrisome thoughts about Jace out of her mind.

Three hours later Clary was standing outside of Jace's room with their brand new baby girl asleep in her arms. When she was first born, Emily had screamed so loudly that Clary was sure that this little girl's lungs were going to give out. Only minutes after being born however, the crying stopped and, from Maryse's arms, Emily Hope lifted her head up, which Jocelyn informed her was extremely unusual, and stared at Clary with vibrant blue eyes. Now she was freshly clean, fed, and the Silent Brothers had cast the appropriate spells that were always put on a newborn shadow hunter.

Alec had been with Jace the whole time and assured Clary that everything was fine and that he was asking for her. Now, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was dim and smelled like antiseptic. In the center of the bed, in the center of the room, Jace sat propped up against some pillows. His left shoulder and side were heavily bandaged and there was a nasty looking bruise on his chin that would probably be gone in a couple of hours due to the runes that snaked up his unhurt side, arm, and neck.

Upon hearing the door open, Jace's head jerked around to look at his wife with their baby in her arms. The sudden movement caused Jace's face to scrunch up in pain.

"Someone here wants to meet her daddy." Said Clary moving to Jace's side. Clary placed their daughter in Jace's good arm. "I picked Hope as her middle name. Emily Hope."  
"It's the perfect name for a perfect little girl." Jace beamed and then gently kissed the sleeping baby on top of her head.

September 19, 2015: Tyler Jehoshaphat Robert Lightwood-Bane

The Institute was bursting at the seams. Jace was sitting by the fire discussing the possible ascension of James who had turned out to not get the werewolf gene with Jordan. Max had piped up saying he wanted James to be a shadow hunter because then they could "be like Daddy and Uncle Alec and be each other's 'pair of bar ties' ". Next to them Clary talked with a very pregnant Maia. She was only four days away from her due date and stated to anyone who would listen just how ready she was to have this child out of her. This was always followed by a comment to Jordan about how this was the last child and she would make sure of that if he didn't handle it himself.

Robert and Maryse had their attention split between the conversations going on near them and the scene that was playing out on the floor. Simon was on his hands and knees with three year old Max and two year old James. Max was on Simon's back with his arm around Simon's neck while James was underneath Simon's stomach throwing what James probably thought were hard kicks to the vampire's abdomen. Both children were laugh like maniacs while occasionally squealing in glee.

Isabelle and Emily were a couple feet from the boys. Emily's pudgy fists gripped tightly around Isabelle's long, slender index finger as the one year old tentatively taking shaky steps forward. Occasionally she would fall on her butt and look up at her Aunt Izzy with big blue eyes quickly filling with tears, her lower lip stuck out and quivering. When this happened her godmother would scoop her up in her arms and give her a big hug and a cookie from the tray on the table next to them. After the second time this happened, the one year old seemed to regress, falling on her backside almost every time. Isabelle laughed while informing everyone that her goddaughter was just as conniving as Jace was as a child when it came to getting cookies.

Everything was proceeding as a normal Saturday afternoon when all of the sudden Magnus Bane strode into the room with a baby in his arms and Alec in tow. Magnus and Alec shared matching smiles as everyone looked at them quizzically.

"Uhh—we have a baby." Alec informed the room. There was hardly a pause before Jace stood up and walked over to where his parabati stood. Jace drew Alec into a bone crushing hug and clapped him on the back.

"Congrats man! I don't know how, nor do I probably want to know, but I expect to be the god father since I made you two the god parents of my first born." Jace informed Alec, who in turn assured him that that was the plan.

"So, uhh, is he _yours_?" Asked Isabelle.

"He is half me and half Alec," Magnus explained for everyone. "Although we all know what happens to the offspring of a shadow hunter and warlock, so I opted out of the warlock gene unfortunately. He is what the mundanes would call a 'test tube baby' I guess… kind of. He was not of conventional birth, but of magic, that being said, he is just as much ours as he would be any other way."

Everybody looked at the baby who clearly had the Lightwood eyes and Magnus' nose. He had Alec's skin tone and warlock's shock of black hair on top of his head.

Clary cleared her throat, "What's his name?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "I keep telling him it's too much. He's going to have a hell of a time spelling it or putting it on a driver's license." He sighed. "Tyler Jehoshaphat Robert Bane-Lightwood."  
"Lightwood-Bane. I let you have the boring first name _and _your dad's name is in there too. It's Lightwood-Bane."

September 27, 2015: Darren Garroway Kyle

Eight days after Tyler, or Ty as everyone called him, was introduced to the family, they were about to welcome another member. Darren Garroway Kyle made his way quietly into the world. His dad, brother, and family friends had hardly heard a noise from Maia. Darren had caused his mother almost no pain and had only cried for a couple of seconds before the cries had turned into content murmurs. When placed in his mother's arms he smiled up at her and promptly fell asleep. Later on she whispered to her husband that they had had a baby with a gentle soul. Jordan had replied that gentle souls usually made great warriors, if that is what the baby chose to be. It was only later, when Darren's eyes met his brother James for the first time did he smile again, this time gurgling and waving his fist in the air as well. Jordan declared that they had somehow managed to have another perfect baby.

October 16, 2016: Allyson Lewis

"How dare you do this to me! Simon Lewis I will KILL your undead butt!" Isabelle's screams and threats were clearly heard by everyone outside the infirmary. Simon was in the infirmary with Izzy, though he probably wished he wasn't. Maia and Jordan had taken their youngest son, Darren, and Magnus and Alec's son, Tyler, out of the room and to somewhere where Isabelle's screaming wouldn't continuously scare them. Maxwell, James, and Emily found Aunt Izzy's "bad words" quite funny and refused to leave.

After another yell from Isabelle, almost three year old Emily walked over to her Clary and looked up at her with worried eyes. "Is Aunt Izzy gonna be ok?" she asked.

Clary picked up the toddler in her arms and set her down on her lap. "Aunt Isabelle is going to be fine." She assured the little girl. "And when she, uhh, feels better she will have a new little baby."

Max who, at four years old, was in his curious faze, looked up and asked, "How does the baby get from her tummy to outside?" Surprise flashed across Clary's face as Jace bust out laughing.

"How does it even get in there?" Asked James.

"Daddy told me that the boy gives the girl some sort of seed, like from a fruit or something, and then the girl gets a baby in her tummy." Maxwell informed his friend, proud of his amount of knowledge. This explanation earned Jace a solid slap on the back of his head by Clary.

"What did you want me to do? He asked, I answered." Said Jace, rubbing his head where Clary had just slapped him.

An especially loud yell came from the infirmary followed by an impressive string of profanities. Clary tried to cover Emily's ears.

Jace leaned over to whisper to Alec. "How did that even happen? How did he, ya know? He doesn't have any blood."

Alec snorted, "To be fair, he has blood. It's not necessarily _his_, but it does course through him."

Just then Simon walked through the door. "It's a girl. Allyson." He smiled which quickly turned to a look of total fear. "I have a daughter. I'm responsible for a person."

Clary set Emily down on the floor and walked over to Simon, giving her best friend a sympathetic, much needed hug.

December 17, 2016: Jocelyn Imogen Herondale

"This is the last time, Jace. I swear to the angle." Said Clary through gritted teeth. Jace kissed his wife on her forehead.

"Anything you say. It's not like this baby was planned anyway." Said Jace with a small smile.

"It's not like any of them were really _planned_." Clary shot back. As another contraction began she squeezed tightly on Jace's hand.

"Ow! Ow! Clary, my hand! Ow!" Jace complained about Clary's grip on his hand. Clary shot him a look that could strike fear into the hearts of an army of demons.

"Alright, you know what to do." Said Jocelyn.

Clary looked at Jace again. "Last one." She said again. "I'm getting to old for this."

Jace gave her a questioning look, "You're only 26."

"Whatever. Give me your hand again." She told Jace who had been gently massaging his injured hand. He hesitated and then reluctantly reached for her hand.

Not a long time later they were staring at their new little girl. Jace was sitting on the bed next to Clary who was holding the baby. Emily, now three, was sitting in her dad's lap and Max was sitting on the other side of Clary.

"This is your new sister, Jocelyn Imogen." Clary said looking at her green eyed girl, little ringlets of red hair already apparent on her head.

Maxwell scrunched his nose. "That's not a good baby name."

"I'm gonna call her JoJo." Emily declared. Her dad kissed her on the top of the head saying that he thought it was the perfect nickname.

Jace looked around him at his three amazing children and repeated the promise he had made a little over four years before, that he would _never_ let anything happen to them.

I know it was kinda a slow and repetitive chapter, but I was introducing the characters. I promise there is actually a story line that I have planned. The next chapter will be up soon!


	2. Chapter 1

They were pretty evenly matched. He was taller, but she was quicker. He was stronger, but her strikes were better placed. She blocked his punch and landed a hit squarely where his kidney was located. He grunted in pain and flipped her off of her feet and onto her back. She let out a yelp of surprise, though she was hardly stunned, and in no time she was up again and they were circling once more. He grinned at her, a bruise already forming on his temple; she smirked back as she wiped away the trickle of blood from the shallow cut on her cheek. All of the sudden, she blitzed forward, her arms a blur of movement. Blocking only about half of the blows, he swept out his foot and knocked her legs out from under her. She tucked her knees to her chest, attempting to roll out of the fall; he had obscured her path. She twisted to the side, causing her to end up on her stomach. Quickly she tried to push herself up, but it was too late, her brother was already sitting on her back.

"Max! Get off of me" She said to her brother who was sitting on her, crushing her into the floor. He let out a loud laugh.

"Not a chance! You really hurt me. Now I have a bruise on my face." Said Max, feigning seriousness.

"Well we wouldn't want your face to get damaged, then you would have to rely on your personality to get girls. That wouldn't go so well." Sneered Emily.

"Big talk from the girl with her face on the floor."

"Seriously Max, you weigh a ton!"

"Are you calling me fat?" Max said, pretending to be insulted. He knew she wasn't however, Max was a strong and tall eighteen year old. People tell him that he is the spitting image of his father, and to an extent he agrees, physically they are very similar. His golden hair and eyes are exactly like his fathers. The similarities continue into personality. He is slightly arrogant at times, he admits, and perhaps a little vain. However, he is also like his mother in many ways. Emily is the one who most often tells him that he reminds her of their mother. Clary and Maxwell share the same mouth, the same disappointed look that could make a career criminal rethink his life choices, and they each have the same little crease between their eyebrows when they are annoyed. Emily's mother and brother share the same laugh as well, at least the kind that is reserved for especially funny situations, the kind that starts from deep within them as if from their soul. So, no, Emily was not calling her brother fat.

Before she could reply, the door to the training room opened. James Kyle walked in. Standing at six feet tall he was only an inch or two shorter than his parabati, who was currently sitting on Emily on the floor. James had ascended and become a shadowhunter when he was a child after it was discovered that he had not gotten the werewolf gene from his parents. Like his parents, his younger brother Darren was a werewolf. Being a nephilim meant he was to live at the institute, away from his family. This, however, was not a problem since his family lived only a couple minutes away.

Although he was wearing black training gear like the two Herondale children, not a single hair was out of place and his skin was not shiny from sweat, making it apparent that he had not been training.

"Your mom said that she wants everyone in the front room. We have a guest." He informed Max and Emily. Max had stood up, allowing his sister to do the same.

"Who is it?" asked Emily, rubbing her probably bruised back. James shrugged his shoulders and then looked at Maxwell.

"Did your little sister give you that nasty bruise?" He asked Maxwell, not remotely trying to contain his laughter.

Maxwell walked over to James and punched him in the arm. "Shut up." He ordered. They continued to take turns punching each other as they walked out the room. Emily rolled her eyes.

Usually after training she would go to her bathroom and take a shower. It always felt nice afterwards, the blood stains scrubbed from her skin, her fresh runes healing the injuries from the session, and her annoyingly curly brown hair wrangled into a messy ponytail. Her hair never looked nice, she had to confess, no matter what she did to it, it would only get knotted in seconds. But instead she begrudgingly forced herself to walk in the opposite direction of a nice warm shower and to the front room where everyone would probably be.

Emily surveyed the room as she entered. Her mother and Aunt Izzy were sitting next to each other on the couch, Aunt Izzy and Uncle Simon's daughter Allyson and Emily's younger sister Jojo were standing near the window, Tyler sat in one of two lounge chairs in the room, and Max and James were in front of the fire. Emily thought it was weird that her father and Uncle Simon weren't there. However none of that hardly even registered, her attention was drawn to the boy standing in the middle of the room. He looked to be about her age. He was tall with broad shoulders and slim waist. His tousled chestnut hair made it look as though he had just rolled out of bed. _But in a good way. _Emily thought to herself.

Emily closed the door behind her as she entered the room. She moved to sit in the chair that was opposite the couch and closest to the door. For the first time she realized the atmosphere in the room was slightly off. She realized that her older brother was glaring daggers at the guest and that he held an actual dagger in his hand. Emily rolled her eyes once again.

"Now that everyone is here our guest can introduce himself." Said Clary, motioning for the boy for an introduction.

"You know who he is, and so do I." Said Max to his mother, he then turned and faced the visitor. "And we don't want you here." He spat out.

"Maxwell. That is enough. If you are rude like that again I swear by the angel you will be sorry." Clary scolded. Max looked torn between wanting to look tough in front of someone he doesn't like and possibly being killed for breaking his mom's orders. He chose the wiser option and kept his mouth shut.

Clary motioned again for the boy to speak. He looked as though that was the last thing he wanted to do and seemed extremely uncomfortable, but he opened his mouth and spoke.

"My name is Caleb Whitewater, but pretty much everyone calls me Cale. I, uh, lived in Idris up until yesterday when I got into an argument with my father and decided to leave. I've always wanted to go to New York anyway, so- uhh- yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck as one tends to do when one is in an awkward situation.

It was suddenly clear to Emily why Max was so annoyed with Caleb. His father was council member Zackary Whitewater who had been the main voice of opposition against the movement for the increase of downworlder equality. Max had gone to Idris and spoken on the side of the downworlders, testifying that two of his uncle's and his parabati's family were both downworlders and some of the best and bravest people that he knew. The motion was eventually declared as delayed so that members could have more time to formulate their opinion on the subject. That had been two years before and still nothing had advanced.

"What argument did you have with your father?" Asked Isabelle.

"If you don't mind, I wish to keep that matter private. Unless the information is of vital importance I wish to keep it to myself." Answered Cale respectively. Though no one seemed completely thrilled about it, nobody pushed the topic further.

"As a shadowhunter, you are always welcome to stay at the institute." Isabelle told Caleb. "Maxwell or James will show you to an empty room. Clary and I have pressing business to attend to." With that the two left in a hurry, uttering quick goodbyes as they left.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, James and I have plans to go to Taki's." Maxwell informed their new house guest.

"It's not like you would want to hang out in the same place as downworlders anyway, right?" Added James who held a serious prejudice against Zackary Whitewaters' stance against equality since his family were downworlders.

Before Cale could answer Tyler piped up. "Could I go with you guys? I haven't been there in forever. I'll text Darren and let him know." Tyler said already tapping away at his phone screen.

"You girls wanna go to?" Said James to Emily, Jocelyn, and Allyson.

"No, thanks though. Ally and I are going to go do some shopping." Said Jojo excitedly.

"How about you Em?" Max asked her.

"I think I'll just stay here. I'm kinda tired anyway." Emily answered honestly. Max eyed Cale who was still standing uncomfortably in the middle of the room.

"I don't think I like that idea." Max said. Emily rolled her eyes.

"I don't really care what you think."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"I don't need you looking out for me, I'm not six."

"Of course you do, besides, I'm older so I'm in charge."

Emily scoffed, "You're not in charge."

"Am too!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Now both of you sound like you're six." Laughed James.

"Shut up!" Max and Emily yelled in unison. Then they turned back to glare at each other.

"My role models!" Jojo said sarcastically. She then rolled her green eyes as if she couldn't believe she was related to these two people. She turned on her heel and walked out. Allyson, who had been doing her best two stifle her giggling followed her best friend out of the door.

"Max, I know what you're about to do, don't." Said James who had seen similar fights enough times to know how it would end.

"He's gonna do it. He always does it." Said Tyler under his breath so that only James could hear.

"I _forbid_ you to stay here by yourself." Max said with the most authoritative tone he could muster. Emily's eyes grew a fraction wider, and her eyebrows raised the tiniest bit. Then, her expression became unreadable and she put on the sweetest smile she could manage. She walked toward Cale, who was still hadn't moved from the center of the room. When she got to him she put a hand on his forearm.

"Come with me." She said, her voice like honey. "I'll show you where your room is. I think there is an empty one next to my bedroom." She giggled in an incredibly girly way that she would normally be horrified to hear coming out of her mouth. Cale, though pleased to have someone finally show him where he was going to be sleeping, was sure that the blonde haired boy was staring daggers at him. Although he understood why Emily Herondale was doing this, to make Maxwell angry, which he certainly loved to do, he was sure this was not going to make his stay at the Institute any easier.

Emily took him by the hand and led him out of the room. When she got to the door she called over her shoulder. "Have fun at Taki's! We'll be here."

Max, James, Tyler were now the only ones left in the front room. James put his hand on his parabati's shoulder. "I don't _want_ to say I told you so-"

"Then don't." Snarled Max.

Ty, who had been quietly watching the scene play out before him, as he usually preferred to do, had decided that it was necessary for him to become part of the conversation once again. "Could we still go to Taki's? I mean I already told Darren we were going to be there and it's not like you can't deal with this later."

Max looked at his raven haired cousin. Golden eyes looked into blue. Max sighed. "Come on, let's go."

"How come you never learn that it always ends this way? I mean I even told you." Said James, who seemed to always need to have the last word, a trait, he is told, he gets from his mother.

"Drop it." Said Max, though he did not sound nearly as angry anymore.

"I'm just saying." James said, putting his hands up and shrugging his shoulders.

"Aren't you always?" Said Max, now laughing. Tyler smirked as James acted as if he were insulted.

Then they walked out the door, James and Tyler talking about some tv show that was coming on that night, something about a blue box. But Max wasn't listening, he was standing in the door frame, looking back over his shoulder and up the staircase where his little sister just went with a boy, a boy who he hates.

"I have a bad feeling about him. This isn't going to lead to anything good." Max said quietly to himself.


	3. Chapter 2

So this isn't my best chapter… I kinda got writers block about half way through, but here ya go. I PROMISE IT GETS MORE INTERESTING! I already have it planned out- there will be a shadowhunter vs ? fight. Maybe demon maybe downworlder.. Anyway, here ya go.

TNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTN GTNGT

"So this is it." Said Emily, gesturing in a broad motion. "You can just make yourself comfortable I guess. The bathroom is the door to your right." She had shown Cale to an empty room and was now leaning against the doorframe as he looked around.

"Thanks." Cale said. Emily gave him a small smile and started to turn to leave. "And thanks for not getting on my case like everyone else. You know, about my dad and everything."

Emily set her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh I don't like him or his opinions. But the unfortunate thing about opinions is that everybody is entitled to one. However, just cause your dad has an opinion that sucks doesn't mean you share it." At this Cale opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Emily quickly added. "That wasn't me asking you to confirm or deny anything, I just... thought I'd let you know." She trailed off.

Cale nodded, but didn't say anything. They stood there looking at each other in awkward silence. Then Cale smirked. "The way you pissed off your brother was really cool. You really know how to push his buttons."

Emily laughed, "Comes from years of experience. I'd say I'm an expert on the subject." There was a lull in conversation. Emily cleared her throat. "So- uhh- let me know if you need anything or if you don't know where something is."

"There is one thing. Where is the training room?"

"Oh, ok, so you go down the stairs and go to the left down the hallway, then you have to go to either the third door on the left and cross through that room to the door on the opposite side, or you can go to the hallway after the fifth door and then take another left, either way you come out at the same spot, then you walk to the-" She broke off as a seriously confused look passed over Cale's face. "How about I just show you."

"Give me two minutes to change and then you can lead the way."

"Alright, and don't worry, this place is confusing, but you'll get the hang of it."

"I guess that depends on how good of a guide you are." Cale said, his voice light and joking.

"I'm almost as good at being a guide as I am at fighting." Emily said with pretend ferocity, hoping Cale would catch on to the idea she was throwing out there.

"If you're up to it, I could use a sparring partner." Cale offered.

A smile pulled at Emily's lips and her eyes brightened. "You're on." She said turning and closing the door behind her so that Cale could change. Quickly she went down the hall to her own room. She grabbed her Stele, rolled up her sleeve, and drew an iratze, the healing rune, on her left upper arm. Immediately she felt the cut on her cheek healing as well as the many bumps and bruises from her match with Max. She looked herself once over in the mirror. '_Just to make sure I didn't lose an earring or something.'_ She thought to herself. Then, she left her room and made her way back to Cale's, a smile on her face.

TNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTN GTNGT

"Well that was miserable!" Exclaimed Isabelle dramatically. She sat down in a kitchen chair and rubbed her temples. Her long brown hair was in a perfect fishtail down her back.

"I still say it wasn't a vampire attack. It was too… random. Vampires take their time, their calculated and meticulous."

Isabelle, Clary, Jace, and Alec each gave him a skeptical look. "Ok, so not me, but _other _vampires are calculated and meticulous." Simon said.

"It sure looked like a Vampire attacked those mundanes. There were bite marks and they were completely drained of blood."

"It _was_ a little too perfect. Maybe Simon's right, maybe someone tried to frame the vampires." Clary pointed out. She had taken a seat near Isabelle at the kitchen table. Jace took a seat next to Clary.

"Maybe it's so obvious because a vampire actually did it. Young ones are kind of unpredictable." Jace suggested.

"I have to go with Simon on this one. It's just too easy." Alec said, he was the only one of the five still standing up.

They continued to discuss the possibility of a rogue vampire attack or a potential set up. About half an hour later, Jordan and Maia walked into the Institute. They looked like they had had the same sort of day as the other five.

"We just got back from central park." Said Jordan. "It looks like there was a fight between a werewolf and a Faerie Knight. When we arrived both were dead along with two mundanes who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The werewolf wasn't part of our pack, so we don't know if he was the type to go off picking fights or if he was attacked." Jordan had taken over the pack from Luke about twelve years before when Luke decided he had gotten too old. Luke and Jocelyn, now 'retired', lived in a ranch up north where they peacefully spent their time gardening and feeding geese and whatnot.

The others filled Maia and Jordan in on what they had found earlier. "Usually downworlders fighting amongst themselves aren't a shadowhunter's number one priority, but when it includes mundanes it starts to involve the Clave." Jace finished.

"Now that I think about it, Magnus was called to Uptown by one of his warlock friends on some sort of urgent call. Maybe it has something to do with all of this. When he gets back I'll-" But Alec never got to say what he'd do because of the ruckus that was coming from the front room and growing louder by the second. Four teenagers all laughing and arguing and trying to speak over each other burst through the door to the kitchen.

"There is no way!" Darren exclaimed. "That guy would have had you beat before the bet even started." Tyler nodded his head in agreement.

"I don't know. I think you could have taken him. Let's go back and find out!" Said James, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"He was a Nix. Who agrees to a swimming competition with a Nix?!" Asked Darren, still beside himself that this had actually almost happened.

"I am a pretty good swimmer." Max assured Darren.

Tyler looked at him incredulously, "He's part fish, moron."

"What's a 'fish moron'?" Max asked his cousin with a cheeky grin.

"Wow, it's like watching a flashback of Jace." Isabelle said to Clary who nodded her head in response.

The four boys seemed to finally realize that there were other people in the kitchen. Jace smiled at his father who gave him a 'good job' wink in response. This earned Jace a smack in the stomach from Clary.

"Don't encourage this." She scolded. Jace merely shrugged his shoulders. After Clary turned away, Jace gave his son a little fatherly head nod to show that, despite what his mother said, he was proud of him.

"Where is Ally?" asked Isabelle.

"Uhh, she and Jojo went shopping or something." Max answered his aunt.

"As if she needs anything else. Where's she going to put it?" Simon asked, throwing his hands up. He looked accusingly at his wife. "This is your fault. She got this from you." He told Isabelle.

Clary was the one who responded. "Come on, Simon. You would spend _hours_ searching for original comics and stuff."

"That is not the same thing as clothes and shoes!" He protested.

"Yeah, you can actually get some use out of clothes." Said Isabelle. Simon rolled his eyes.

All heads turned when the kitchen door opened. Emily walked in followed by Cale. They were laughing at a something Cale had said. The two had not expected anyone to be in the kitchen so, upon seeing the eleven pairs of eyes looking at them, they stopped.

"Hey," Emily said, "how's everything going?" She asked lamely, never having been good at making conversation.

"We're taking a break from training. I would say Emily is one of the best fights I've ever had." Cale added smoothly, his tone one of appreciation and admiration, but the shine in his silver eyes told a different story.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, noting the tension induced uneasiness of her parents, aunts, and uncles. Whatever short comings she had as a conversationalist were made up in her ability to read people. It had always come naturally to her, to tell if people were lying or if they were sincere, if they were hiding something or worried; she always knew.

The adults recounted the events of the day to the teenagers who were all listening with great interest. After they were done, Maia and Jordan went home to clean themselves up a little before the came back for their weekly group dinner. Clary and Jace, and Simon and Isabelle went to their respective rooms, also needing to shower and change before dinner.

TNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTNGTN GTNGT

Max _hated_ group dinner. That's not to say that he doesn't love his family, he did, but he hated the stupid tradition of dressing up. Why couldn't they just have dinner together in their regular clothes? Stiff collars and khaki pants were not his idea of a good time. No, his idea of a good time was usually a brunette, preferably with brown eyes, and _a lot_ of alcohol. Not to mention a-

"You decent?" James' voice got Max's attention away from his thoughts.

"Button up shirt and all." Said Max annoyed as he flopped down on his bed.

"You need to get over this stupid prejudice against nice clothes. It's weird. You can't spend your whole life in jeans and polos." James said rolling his eyes and sitting down by his friend's feet at the foot of the bed.

"It's not a _prejudice,_ it's just a hassle. The clothes have to stay unwrinkled and spotless. Oh, and Angel help you if you get even the tiniest drop of demon blood on your pants." Maxwell huffed.

James ran his hand through his hair, a useless action, since his short hair naturally swooped upward and usually refused to lie flat. "Come on, everybody is already downstairs and they're all anal about everything that has happened today and I don't want to piss anybody off by being late." He said. He got up off the bed and left the room, Maxwell grumbling as he followed. As they walked into the hall they saw Emily dressed in a red, spaghetti strap dress and matching high top converse talking with Caleb Whitewater. Her hair was pulled back in a long, tangled pony tail, as was the norm, and her head nodded empathetically as he spoke to her. They both looked over as they heard James and Max enter the hallway. Cale gave the two boys a small nod before going back into his room.

"What were you two talking about?" James asked, genuinely curious.

"I invited him to dinner." Emily informed them. Maxwell was sure his eyes were about to bulge out of his head.

"You did _what_?! That is not appropriate, Emily." He said to his younger sister.

"Obviously he felt similarly, although he was more polite than you were. Besides it would be perfectly fine if he came to dinner." She said, then drawing herself up to her full 5'8" she said, "You don't know him, Max. You know his father. They are two different people." She sighed and her voice softened, "Just promise me you will remember that."

She didn't expect an answer, nor did Max intend to give one. The three shadowhunters in the hall stood silently for a moment, then a look of worry spread across James' face.

"Oh no. It's the third week of the month." He said his face already full of concern as the realization dawned on the other two. "It's Aunt Izzy's turn to cook." They all groaned as they made their way to the stairs to join the rest of the group for a family dinner that Isabelle would probably somehow manage to both undercook and burn.

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